This invention relates to butter dishes and more particularly to butter dishes that cut slices of butter.
People have used butter dishes for storing butter for a very long time. Obtaining a portion of butter is not necessarily a neat task. Butter may be difficult to slice whether the butter is warm or cold. When the butter is warm, uniform slices cannot easily be produced, producing more of a glob than a slice. When the butter is cold, it is difficult to cut the butter and even more difficult to produce flat, uniform slices. Other problems also exist.
Typically, a person will use a knife to cut a slice of butter. The person will then spread the butter onto a slice of bread or toast. This person may then apply peanut butter or jelly to the slice of bread or toast. This person may then wish to cut another slice of butter for a second slice of bread or toast. The knife will likely contain breadcrumbs, peanut butter, jelly, or other particles. When the person cuts the second slice of butter, the breadcrumbs, peanut butter, jelly, or other particles are transferred to the butter. Many people find the transfer of these particles from one person""s food to another""s food distasteful.
Another problem with customary butter dishes is that these dishes do not protect the butter from contact with undesirable insects. For example, when the butter dish is left on the counter top or placed on the table for use, the butter is usually unprotected. Flies and insects easily come in contact with the butter. The butter dish will not likely have a barrier by which to prevent these insects from landing on the butter and leaving tracks.
Another problem with typical butter dishes is that they are difficult to wash. Many butter dishes may not be placed into dishwashers because of the material of which they are made. Washing butter dishes by hand may be an adventure. Butter is oil-based which creates the difficulty in washing butter dishes. One must use extremely hot water to clean butter dishes. Often water this hot is intolerable for the person washing butter dishes. Moreover, the person""s hands become coated in the oil found in butter.